Bradley signs junior college shooting guard

Bradley added a much-needed outside shooter to its men’s basketball roster for next season Wednesday when 6-foot-2 Kendahl Amerson of Utah State-Eastern returned his National Letter of Intent.

Amerson, a Detroit native, averaged 17.5 points last season at USU-E, hitting on 40 percent of his 3-point shots (81-for-205) to help his team to a 20-10 record. He will have two years of eligibility at BU.

“Kendahl has really deep range and is an accurate 3-point shooter, which we desperately need,” said BU coach Geno Ford. “He’s also big and physical, which allows us to play him at multiple positions on the perimeter. He can play the 2 or the 3.

“He’s a good rebounder and has really good explosiveness, which allows him to rebound balls in traffic. Defense is the area where he can experience growth. Anytime you go from high school or junior college to the Missouri Valley you have a defensive emphasis you don’t expect. He’s strong and physically gifted, so he can be a good defensive player.”

Amerson, who played high school ball at Henry Ford High, spent his freshman year at South Plains College in Texas, where he averaged 9.6 points and 3.2 rebounds for a 19-5 squad.

“Kendahl is a guy who not only shot a good percentage on 3s, but he took 205 of them, an incredibly high amount to get off,” Ford said, noting Amerson attempted nearly seven 3s per game. “That’s a good thing because he was still able to make them at a very good clip.

“The biggest thing for us a year ago in non-league was we lost a lot of games because we weren’t a good 3-point shooting team. Austin Barnes became a good 3-point shooter in the league. But we didn’t have enough others around him who shot well from there.”

Ford noted that an effective outside game was a benefit beyond the points it puts on the board.

“With an improved Mike Shaw, Xzavier Taylor and Auston Barnes inside, we have to have good outside shooting to get the spacing needed for those guys to operate,” he said. “Offense gets difficult when the defense clogs up the lane. That’s what we experienced last year.”

Bradley’s roster shaping continues in the days ahead as 6-2 combination guard Warren Jones of Southeastern Iowa Community College pays an official visit this weekend.

Also, prized incoming freshman forward Josh Cunningham of Chicago Morgan Park is expected to announce his college choice next week. Bradley is believed to be high on Cunningham’s list of schools he’s considering.

BU has three scholarships remaining to give.

Page 2 of 2 - In the fall, Bradley signed two recruits — Hill (Texas) College point guard Tramique Sutherland and 6-6 Thornwood High School forward Donte Thomas.

The 5-11 Sutherland was named an honorable mention NJCAA Division I All-American after averaging 19.3 points, 8.2 assists, 7.6 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game. He ranked second nationally in both assists (264) and steals (96) while leading Hill to the NJCAA national tournament.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct the school where Amerson spent his freshman season of college.

Dave Reynolds can be reached at 686-3210 or dreynolds@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter at davereynolds2.